As You Like It
by Aruta Rianu
Summary: The morning came as the sun rose to the sky, all it's glory radiating across the land of Japan. It was another perfect day for the EN... but it's not as blissful as it seems if you're the only member around. Multi Chapter; for the Light-Hearted Romance!
1. Chapter 1

As You Like It

Chapter 1: The Long Awaited Task (song of inspiration: Aged 1492)

Kikuchi was feeling rather bored. He sat quietly in the dining room with his head cradled gently on the palm of his left hand while the other played with the silverware on the table right in front of him. He couldn't even think about enjoying his breakfast anymore; He was all alone.

--- _A few_ _hours ago ---_

The brunette had stirred in his bed when the alarm clock on top of his bedside table rung; it must have meant it was six thirty in the morning. He groaned slightly and sat up, his tousled hair falling on his smooth (and rather effeminate) frame in different places.

He slipped out a stifled yawn and proceeded to walk out of his bed for the bathroom. "Need to change clothes... mm, training with Buchou..."

Kikuchi wasn't a morning person. Unlike the others, he prefered to sleep in until noon during weekends and appreciate the small things in life during his spare time. He loved to think slowly and take his time to get to understand things- but according to his senior, Hayato, " certain things must be changed for a brighter future! Hahahahaha" and so, his daily routine had been completely influenced by the blonde man. He could've let it go, but there was another thing. He didn't want to anger his upper classmen with him being the 'new guy' in the boat. And who knows? Things might become better for him after all.

After a quick, hot shower he went out of his room and looked around the yacht's living room. That was strange, no one was here. Normally, the first thing he'd see would be Kaoru sitting comfortably on his favorite cream-colored chair, enjoying a cup of aromatic english tea as he listened to Hayato play him a piece on the baby grand piano placed in the middle of their living room.

A typical morning in the EN's humble abode.

However, there was no soft music being played, nor was there a single soul in sight. Kikuchi could smell something really good though. _'Could it be...''_he followed the mouth-watering scent wafting in the air and led him to the kitchen. His eyes instantly turned to look at the counter where a tray covered with a piece of cloth sat unharmed and a small folded note lying on top of it with the following scribbled rather neatly on its surface:

For Kikuchi Shinta

He made a staring contest between him and the note before picking it up in his hands. With a little huff, he unfolded the piece of paper and read its contents intently.

_To our dearest little knight,_

_We apologize for leaving you here on such a short notice- I am taking a short trip to England to discuss matters with a potential member I have taken an interest on and I decided to personally invite her to join our cause. I have brought both Sugita and Moriyama with me as company, so I entrust to you our Home for safekeeping. Consider it a test of my faith in you and I truly wish that by the time I arrive back in Asahi, it is still exactly as I remember it to be._

_Again, I apologize for not telling you sooner. Thank you for your joyful service._

_(Before I forget, please do not forget to eat the meal prepared for you on the tray. By all means, enjoy what Sugita has left for you.)_

_Lo- Sincerely,_

_Kiryuuin Kaoru_

Kikuchi chuckled at the remark; he must've written "Love" first and noticing the informal account which it was, the man scratched it out and replaced it with the word "Sincere" instead. He could be such a paternal figure at times. He can't help but smile wider after processing what he had just read. He had been given a task where he would be able to prove himself to his senior! What a way to score some points.

But he suddenly thought about his situation... if Kaoru only brought with him Sugita and Moriyama, where were the others?

The brunette quickly dismissed his thoughts and turned to the tray on the table. His stomach growled a bit at the inviting aroma, issuing a tiny blush on his cheeks. As though someone might catch him off guard, he looked around him before lifting the cloth that was keeping him from his subject of interest.

Though surprise, surprise... there was another note on top of the soupbowl.

Kikuchi heaved out a small sigh once again before his eyes started scrolling up and down on the piece of paper.

This time it was unmistakably written by the cheergirls. Scribbles of cute chibis were drawn with different colors of ink, with the combination of pink, orange, and blue.

The first paragraph was in pink, in line with a really cute chibi of Rin on its left.

_Hey, Shin-chan! I heard Kaoru-sama was going out of the country. I caught him in the living room before he left, so, yeah. He told me you're the one in charge of the yacht and if there were any problems, you'll be there to take care of 'em! Way to go_~

_Hehe, I'm pretty sure my favorite little bro is pretty happy playing Man of the House, huh?_

He smirked at this a little. Even though he was a humble person by nature, he admitted that he felt proud of himself for once.

The next paragraph was now in orange, and as his eyes oggled at the handwriting he thought how the person was much more focused on beautifying the lettering rather than the message itself. Kawaii must've been the one who had done this.

_By the way Shinta-kun, do you know that Rin won free tickets to Hollywood city? We would finally get the chance to watch Meowzilla live! Yay! _

Beside it was a picture of a bunny and a cat.

Now in a simpler handwriting in blue, it said:

_But since there were only three of those tickets... we wouldn't be able to ask you to come along... We're sorry... But we won't forget to bring you a souvenir while we're there... so even if we'll be gone for a few weeks, you will have something to look forward to..._

_Have fun taking care of the house..._

_..._

"What the..." he absent-mindedly crumpled the paper in his hands. "I never knew they could do such a thing to me!"

Kikuchi stared at the note dumbfounded. Does this mean he had to be by himself? No, he still had Hayato for company... at least there's someone from his team who had the diecency to join him in his fate.

Slapping a hand to his forehead, he remembered that Hayato was given a "mission" by Kaoru to investigate on some "confidential issues" that was captain-president only. He didn't know what it was all about, but all he knew is that the blonde man won't be coming back any time soon.

So... he really was going to be alone?

Silence fell in to the brunette as he slumped down on a chair and let out a distressed sigh. "This is going to be a long day..." he muttered to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

--- _Present time _---

Meanwhile, in the headquarters of the Ouendan Squad...

"Hajime-chan," a voice from down stairs called, making the boy in question lift his head from his book. "Hajime-chan, there's someone on the phone looking for you!"

Hajime furrowed his eyebrows. _'... chan.' _After all these years, he's still being called with such an endearment. He's a buffed up man of 21 for God's sake, not the scrawny little boy from 6 years ago!

As he brought himself downstairs, he gave Sayaka a disbelieving stare. Sayaka stared back with a perfect Cheshire Cat of a smile. "Why are you giving me that look, Haji-chan?"

"That," he stressed, "Is exactly my problem."

"What is?"

Damn, this woman's pretty dense for her age...

"The nickname!" he retorted back.

"Oh! You mean Haji-chan?" Hajime nodded slowly at the girl with an eyebrow raised. "But it sounds so cute on you!" the Cheergirl chirped. Hajime shook his head; Sayaka never took him seriously.

"Ever heard of proper honorifics?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. The girl laughed a little at her underclassman and playfully pinched the taller man's cheeks. "I know of them, silly! It's just that Haji-chan sounds better than Hajime-san, or Hajime-kun, don't you think?"

"No, I do not!" he snapped at her while swatting her hands away from his poorly abused cheeks. "Hatachi has long past for me, Sayaka."

"So what? In my eyes, you're still the cute little boy of sixteen, only taller and beefier."

_'What the hell..?' _Hajime practically gave up.

"... Never mind. Not like you're ever gonna listen to me anyway."

The latter giggled and pat "Haji-chan" on his shoulder. "Good boy! Now answer the phone, Shinta-kun must be waiting for you to pick up for ages." Sayaka walked back to the living room, leaving the rookie alone in the hallway. Hajime stilled a little when he heard the name of his rival._'Kikuchi? That's a surprise...' _he thought. He turned to the phone that sat on the counter right next to him and picked it up, lifting the reciever to his ear. With a slight cough, he spoke with the clearest voice he could manage.

"Hello?"

Hajime swore he almost flung the phone to the wall when he heard the brunette yell at the top of his lungs. What an intelligent way to respond in a civil conversation. "Waah! I thought you're gonna abandon me too! Why didn't you pick up sooner?!" Hajime recollected himself together and fixed his glasses back on the brigde of his nose. "Wh... Abandon you? What in the world are you talking about?" he recoiled. He could hear a few sniffling noises from the other side of the line as he pressed his ear on the phone, a slight scowl forming in his face. He waited for the other to start talking, but silence greeted him instead of the usual high-pitched voice of the younger man. Hajime leaned on the wall behind him and with a moment's hesitation, he spoke. "... Uhh, something wrong?" Kikuchi calmed down a bit and let out a breathy sigh. "They left me alone..."

That didn't make any sense. Who left him alone? Could it be...

"... You mean your squad?"

"Un..."

"All of them?"

"Un.."

"... Where are you right now?"

"Outside..."

A vein popped in Hajime's forehead.

"Kikuchi. I beg of you, could you please respond properly?"

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"So... where exactly is 'outside'?"

"Open your window and you'll see."

Hajime trapped the phone between his shoulder and his ear, walking closer to the window in front of him. With a quick sliding motion of his hands, he slid open the window and prodded his head outside the small frame to take a look.

There he saw the ocean gleaming under the sunlight, seagulls flying freely on the air. It was a comforting feeling being able to see the sun... the last time he saw it, it was losing the energy to live on. It was a good thing they were able to save it from dying.

He snapped himself back to reality when he heard Kikuchi speak up on the phone once more. "Hey."

Oddly though, it was much more clearer than usual. _'It's as if he's really here.'_

"Can you face to your left?"

He did what he was told, and when he turned his heart came to a total stop. The brunette _was _there. He stood on top of their yacht anchored beside the Ouendan Squad's HQ, a phone in hand.

"...Hello, Tanaka-san."

Hajime gaped at the younger man, unable to say anything. He didn't even notice that he had dropped the phone down on the ocean.

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A/N: Hahaha! What a long first chapter. Did you like it? :'D

I hope you found it good. So if you did, please R&R! I would really appreciate it! ;)

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Notes:

(1) The phone thing really happened to be before. Back in Grade 7, my friends and I were fishing in the docks of the beach resort we went to. I was trying to call the others so they could come and join us when this huge seagull flew right in front of me! In fear, I accidentally dropped the phone on the fishing site. :( I was scared shitless when that happened...

(2) Hatachi- it's a celebration in where a person is considered to be of age as an adult. The Japanese take this pretty seriously, so they really prepare for it like a young girl's debut. (haha Hajime had a debut xD) But of course, it's not anything like the "18 roses" and pink stuff you see in a girl's 18th birthday.

(3) In my Ouendan universe, I always thought that the Ouendan Squad's HQ would be somewhere near the ocean. No, not exactly a beach- it's kinda hard to explain what's on my mind. xD Just check the world map of the game, and you'll understand~


	2. Chapter 2

As You Like It

Chapter 2: Full House (Song of inspiration: Eyes on Me)

"So you've been all alone in your boat?" Sayaka commented, bringing in a tray of tea things from the kitchen to the living room. She set them down on the table and sat on the floor. Shinta nodded and grinned a bit. "The whole team's been pretty busy, so I was left to take care of the yacht."

"Oh... you must've been pretty lonely."

Shinta's eyes widened slightly at the comment. "I wouldn't put it that way, I'm just not used to being without company." he said as he helped Sayaka with the teacups. Hajime held back a laugh at what he just heard. After hearing the brunette so distressed over the phone, he wasn't convinced that the younger man wasn't affected of the sudden disappearance of all of the members in his team. He definitely felt lonely.

Shinta noticed the small offending smile that formed in Hajime's face and pouted. "What?" he asked the taller man who sat beside him on the floor. From the looks of the smug expression on the other's face, it was given that his rival was laughing at him. Hajime waved a hand in front of his face dismissing the thought and shook his head.

"Nothing." he replied, reaching out for the rice crackers from the plate on the table. "Don't mind me." Shinta frowned and muttered something that sounded like "phone falling" as soon as he turned his head away from the guy sitting next to him. Hajime choked on his rice cracker... this time, it was his turn to frown. _'iHe really had to remind me about the phone...'/i_

Sayaka looked at the two men who were having a silent fight in front of her and giggled. "Come on, let's just enjoy the snacks and chat along." she chirped, "we don't really get that many visitors often here in the HQ."

Shinta grinned shyly at the girl; Sayaka was such a kind person to him. Unlike the other members of the Ouendan Squad, she didn't really care about "The Great Clash" between the two groups. Though speaking about the others... where are they?

"Amemiya-senpai, where are the others?"

Sayaka looked up at Shinta and smiled. "Hmm... well, Anna and Aoi went out grocery shopping. It's their turn for the month, so I kind of kicked them out of the house."

"Oh, I see. But... what about Ippongi-senpai and Kai-buchou?"

Hajime closed his eyes as he heard the names of his seniors. "Those two were drinking like idiots last night so now they have to suffer the consequences." he said as he took a sip from his cup of tea. "I can't blame them though, they needed the distraction."

Distraction? What in the world do they need it for anyway?

Shinta felt the urge to ask but he left his question hanging in his mind. It wasn't his place to dip in on their personal matters after all.

"I heard hangovers are pretty bad." he commented. "That's why I avoid going out with the others when they go out to the pubs."

"You don't drink, Shinta-kun?" Sayaka rested her head on her hands as she placed an interested gaze at the brunette. "Come to think of it, you really don't seem like the type that does."

A blush krept on Shinta's cheeks. "Yeah, I actually can't hold any kind of liquor..." he replied, laughing nervously. Sayaka giggled a little bit. "Then Haji-chan and Shinta-kun are opposites," the Cheergirl nodded her head towards her teammate. "Hajime here can drink pretty well! He drains every bottle down to the last drop."

"Hey, don't make it sound like I'm a drunkard." the said man snapped at the girl in front of him and turned his head to Shinta. "I drink but I don't chug it down like she says."

Shinta went silent.

"... You don't believe her, do you?"

A few more moments of silence and the brunette decided to avoid answering the question. Sayaka started to laugh heartily while Hajime eyed the man beside him, a look of disbelief in his dark gray orbs. "Thanks a lot, Kikuchi."

As they were having fun they suddenly heard the front door push open. "We're home! Anyone here?" A voice that sounded like Aoi exclaimed from outside the house. Anna emerged from behind the door carrying a few plastic bags that looked like it weighed a ton. "If someone in there cares, could'ya help me out?" the blonde managed to say in between huffs of breath. Shinta quickly stood up from the floor and ran towards the entrance. "Thanks for the hard work Anna-san, leave them to me." With an 'oof' Anna let go of the troublesome bags.

"Ow, my back..." she muttered, clutching her sides. She looked up at the person who went to help her, trying to remember the unfamiliar face. "Oh hey, aren't you one of those blue dudes from the other side of the city?" Shinta nodded at her and smiled despite the slightly rude comment. "I came to visit."

The blonde stared at him for a while before smiling back. "You seem like a good kid... I wouldn't mind you staying here."

She strut towards the living room and waved a hand in the air. "Thanks for the help, boy. Just leave 'em in the kitchen for me."

"Anna!" Aoi called out. She shook her head and frowned. "Don't mind her. She's just pretty tactless by nature." Shinta shrugged lightly and payed it no mind. "It's alright." He looked down on the plastic bags on the floor and proceeded to lift them up with his hands.

Or at least he tried to.

With a little more effort, he tried once again. i_'What in the world is making these so heavy..? And how did Anna carry them all the way here?!' /i_The brunette resorted into dragging them to kitchen, struggling with the weight he was carrying along with him.

"Hey... do you need help with that?" Hajime offered as he watched the boy desperately trying to finish his task.

Shinta wanted to say yes... he really wanted to. But there was one problem; Hajime was his rival! Even after saving the sun together with the other man, he still thought of him that way. i_'But he's just being nice...' /i_he thought, Hajime isn't going to laugh at him at all.

_..._

_'iWhat the hell am I saying?'_ /iShinta mentally slapped himself. _'Don't give in, don't give in!'_

"Haha, I'm doing perfectly well. I can manage this on my own!" with a flashing smile, he once again made an attempt to lift the mysteriously heavy grocery bags. "Seriously Shinta-kun, don't strain yourself!" Sayaka snapped at him. She turned her head to Hajime and gave him a desperate stare. "Go help him, please."

Hajime stood up from the floor and rushed to where his rival stood immobilized. He placed a hand on top of the Shinta's own, coaxing him to let go of his grip. "Come on idiot, give it up and let me help you."

"But I-" Shinta looked up at Hajime to protest, only to notice how close their faces were. (Blame the height differences for that.)

The two locked eyes at the sudden contact, staring at their reflections in the eyes of the other. Shinta leaned in closer and continued gazing at the pair of shiny gray orbs in front of him. i_'I've never seen such a shade of gray... they don't look as dull as it should be at all...'/i_

Funny how he could still see them perfectly even with Hajime's glasses in the way.

The staring continued for what seemed like ages when suddenly a hand blocked their view, breaking their moment of endearment. "How long are you guys going to stare at each other?!" An angry Aoi huffed. "Get a move on will you?"

Hajime shook his head in confusion. i_'What was that just now?' /i_he thought to himself. He swore he had just locked eyes with the other man longer than he could've liked. Though he couldn't deny it; the brown eyes of the other man were very beautiful...

But that was beside the point!

"Y-Yeah, the bags! Let's take them to the kitchen!" Shinta exclaimed, trying to keep himself from blushing at the unusual moment they shared. "Here, carry these with you Tanaka-san." He quickly let go of a couple of plastic bags from one hand and with a speed (and strength) he never knew he possessed, the brunette ran away from the living room out of embarassment.

"Hey, where are you going? The kitchen's to the left!" Hajime called out to his rival as he ran to the same direction Shinta had gone to in a hurry.

Once they were gone, Sayaka glanced at the pink-haired Cheergirl standing in the middle of the living room for a few seconds before she playfully twisted a lock of brown hair in her fingers. "... Are you jealous of them?"

"There's no reason to feel that way, is there?" Aoi replied.

"I should be asking you that question."

Aoi's hands formed into small fists at the sudden remark from her comrade; Sayaka did have a point. She hated it when the truth was actually shoved right in front of her face... it hurt to know of something you didn't want to think about.

"Tch!" She shut her eyes closed and stormed out of the room, her long pink hair flying freely behind her.

Sayaka let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

"I wonder how this love triangle would end up?"

And as if she hadn't said anything, she turned the television on, switched to her favorite channel and watched what was being shown on its screen contently.

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A/N: And that's the end of chapter 2~

I'm so sorry about the crappy ending, I didn't know what to do. I promise I'll do better with the next one. :o


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